More than a month after an accidental mine spill in Colorado sent millions of gallons of toxic waters into rivers including the Animas and San Juan, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish says fish caught in those rivers are safe to eat. The agency says a laboratory in Colorado tested fish taken from areas of the affected waterways for lead, mercury, selenium, copper, arsenic and cadmium. Mike Sloane, who’s in charge of fisheries for the state Game and Fish Department says, quote: “Tissue samples from fish tested revealed trace amounts of metals that are within acceptable levels for human consumption.” The Department will continue collecting and testing species of fish other river-life to monitor the short and long-term effects on aquatic species. Collections will be taken again at six months post-spill, one year post-spill and annually thereafter.
The U.S. oil and gas production boom of the past decade has an unwanted side effect: Millions of gallons of briny wastewater have spilled onto land and flowed into waterways, often doing severe damage. An Associated Press analysis of state and federal record finds nearly 22-thousand spills of oilfield wastewater between 2009 and 2014. They add up to more than 175 million gallons. And officials acknowledge many releases are never reported. The spills happen primarily because of human error and equipment failures such as ruptured pipelines, overflowing tanks or illegal dumping. Experts say wastewater spills can be more environmentally harmful than oil spills. The salty byproduct turn can land into barren moonscapes where plants can't grow. Oil industry officials say they're trying to reduce the number of spills.
A judge will hear arguments later this month on whether the education department's evaluation system should be shut down while a lawsuit heads to court. The Los Alamos Monitor reports Santa Fe First Judicial District Court Judge David Thomson scheduled preliminary injunction hearings for September 16th and 21st. The Albuquerque Teachers Federation and the American Federation of Teachers requested the injunction after filing a lawsuit earlier this year that said the evaluations are punitive. Thompson scheduled an April fourth court date in the lawsuit to determine the validity of the evaluations. The judge also granted the attorney defending New Mexico Education Secretary Hanna Skandera a request for more to conduct allegations being made by the unions.
The Santa Fe Police Department says it’s cracking down, not only on burglars, but also the drug dealers involved in the receiving or transferring residents’ stolen personal property. And they’re pointing to a recent arrest as an example. SFPD says a two-week investigation by its property crimes unit resulted in the arrest of a local man accused of the so-called “fencing” of stolen property. Police say 29-year old Anthony Duarte would accept stolen items from drug users in exchange for methamphetamine or collateral until the user could pay off the drug debt. SFPD says while officers executed a search warrant earlier this month, they seized methamphetamine along with drug paraphernalia. And, they also got a confession from Duarte regarding a stolen lap-top. In addition, officers arrested a 38-year old Santa Fe woman on two drug paraphernalia- possession warrants while they were tending to Duarte.
The New Mexico Corrections Department is looking into ways to address the large percentage of prison inmates who are prescribed medications that can be abused for a high. The Albuquerque Journal reports a quarter of the state's inmates in 2012 were taking psychotropic drugs, which can be crushed and snorted. As of April 30th of this year, that rate had jumped to 33 percent. Corrections officials released a statement saying rates were high, especially for women. About 70-percent of the inmates at the state's only woman's prison were taking these medications, compared to roughly 30-percent of male inmates. Data for both men and women is well above the 10-percent prescription rate for federal inmates in 2014. The department's statement says it is working with its medical contractor to find solutions.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly sunny today through tomorrow with the high temp both days near 80. Tonight: Partly cloudy skies with the overnight low, 55. There’s a 20-percent chance for showers and thunderstorms through tomorrow.